Homemade Metal Bender

Homemade Metal Bender FARM SHOP Tools 23-4-38 Dale Spoerl, Elizabeth, Ill.: "I made my own 4-ft. wide dust pan on wheels that works great for removing dried mud, metal shavings, etc., from my shop floor. The pan is made from sheet metal and is about 10 in. deep and 4 in. high at the back. The back side is connected to a the handle and rear wheels off an old lawn mower. To use the unit I just push it ahead of me as I walk. I welded the brackets that formerly controlled the mower deck's height to the back of the dust pan, allowing me to adjust the angle of the pan. "I used scrap steel to make a 36-in. wide metal bender that lets me bend sheets of metal at a 90 degree angle. It's equipped with a hinged handle on each side. I place the bender in a vise with the handles straight up in the air. Then I slip the metal sheet in under a bar and use a pair of vise grips to keep the sheet in place. To make the bend I simply pull both handles back toward me. I copied it off a photo of a commercial unit. It makes a nice clean 90 bend."

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